Floorcovering imports decline in September

Flooring imports to the UK dropped 1.3% in September, according to HM Revenue & Customs data compiled by The Furnishing Report. The decrease represented a second straight fall and reportedly reflected a 16% drop in vinyl flooring shipments to £37m, with China’s imports in particular falling 29%. There was also a 0.8% decline in wood flooring imports, exacerbated by poor figures from Poland.

While carpet and rug imports did see an increase of 8.5% to £69.9 million, particularly driven by growth of 32% from India and 26% from the Netherlands (both of which offset a continued fall from Belgium of –17%), this was still outweighed by the decline in the smooth category. The Furnishing Report notes that carpet imports for the year-to-date are now positive compared to the first nine months of last year, even with a continuing pivot away from Belgian imports.